↑

Simplifying DIY Design

Simple Graphic Design To Grow Your Blog

Best Features for Editing Templates In Canva

by 2 Comments

Last updated on February 23rd, 2023

Want to save even more time editing your Canva templates? Canva templates are already a huge time-saver, but now you can customize them faster than ever using Canva’s amazing design features!

It’s no secret that we absolutely LOVE Canva templates. But now Canva has added even more amazing features that make editing them easier than ever.

Back in the day, we were dedicated to finding a workaround for everything.

We knew what we wanted our Canva templates to look like based on our years of using Adobe and learning design. Unfortunately, the functions weren’t quite there… yet.

Ready to design and launch a digital product? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET YOUR QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

We’d get questions all the time about how to do certain things, and if Canva itself didn’t have a solution, then we’d find one.

We essentially became the MacGyver of Canva in the blogging world, getting creative and finding solutions.

Luckily, designing your Canva templates is getting easier and quicker every day.

It seems like they’re coming out with new functions and features every week that we seriously cannot get enough of.

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Learn the best features for editing templates in Canva! These game-changing tips and tricks will help you edit templates faster than ever!

While we can’t exactly deep dive into every single amazing feature and function Canva has to offer, we do want to talk about the ones we love specifically for designing with Canva templates.

But if that’s something you’re looking for, definitely check out our course, Confidently Canva!

Now, let’s get into how you can easily edit your Canva templates to help you save a ton of time!

INSTANTLY CHANGE COLORS + FONTS

To use this feature, you’ll first need to upgrade to Canva Pro and configure your Canva Brand Kit to match the fonts and colors of your branding.

Once you have a brand you love, you’ll head to your Brand Kit inside Canva to set your hex codes and brand fonts.

If you’re not sure how to create the perfect brand for your blog, check out our Five-Minute Brand! You’ll get 40 complete Brand Kits in a variety of styles, along with everything you need to brand your blog.

Once your brand is configured, open your template and choose ‘Styles’ from the left menu.

Learn the best features for editing templates in Canva! These game-changing tips and tricks will help you edit templates faster than ever!

Click on your brand colors and watch the magic unfold!

You can shuffle the colors around as much as you like or manually adjust as needed (like white space). This feature will ONLY use colors within the color palette you chose, making editing your Canva templates a breeze.

DESIGN TIP: Set the color of any element by clicking the ‘Lock’ icon to save even more design time

All that’s left? Adding your text and swapping with any of your brand images! Super simple, right?

Learn the best features for editing templates in Canva! These game-changing tips and tricks will help you edit templates faster than ever!

Remember, this is a Canva Pro feature, but you can try it FREE for 30 days here! If you haven’t tried Canva Pro yet, we highly recommend it.

We save at least $700 a year by cutting back on our graphic purchases and cutting out ALL of our stock photo memberships.

Canva’s always adding new fonts, media, and incredible features like SmartMockups, Magic Write, simple web hosting, and MORE.

Did we mention the ‘Background Remover’ tool on both images AND videos? Oh, and curved text, too!

SHADOWS TO PAGE PREVIEWS

This Canva feature was a total game-changer because up until now, we’d manually add shadows, and let us just say, it was NOT fast.

To add a shadow, click on any image –> ‘Effects’ –> ‘Shadows.’

You’ll now see a variety of shadow styles (who knew there were so many shadow types!).

We generally only use ‘Drop’ because it looks the most natural and really makes your printables, workbooks, checklists, etc., pop!

You can also click again on the shadow style of your choice to adjust the offset, angle, transparency, blur, and color.

We like to keep our shadows somewhat minimal, so we generally stick with Canva’s presets on this.

Once you’re done, click ‘Apply’ and you’re all set. Please note your image may look a bit blurry immediately after adding a shadow for just a second or two.

It should be crystal clear upon download, though!

ELEMENT + PAGE ANIMATIONS

Not only can you animate elements, but you can also animate text in your designs. This means any of your Canva templates can be eye-catching animated designs with the click of a button. 

Click on the text or object that you want to animate, choose ‘Animate’ from the top menu (or right-click), and select the animation option of choice.

You can even change the time (when the animation starts), speed, and direction. Once you’re done, download your design as a GIF or MP4.

Related Post: How to Make an Animated GIF or Flipbook in Canva

This is a really great option for creating video pins on Pinterest without creating an actual video.

We usually animate one element (or add an animated design like an arrow) and the main text – that’s it!

ACCESS FOLDERS FROM INSIDE THE EDITOR

Another amazing time-saving feature for editing your Canva templates is the ability to access ANY folder from inside your page design.

This feature lets you mix and match Canva templates without having the crazy workaround of opening an additional project, copying the design, and going back to your current design to paste.

We’re all about simplified design over here, if you haven’t guessed!

So you don’t copy over an already existing design, make sure to add a new blank page. From the left menu, select ‘Projects’ and again on ‘Folders.’

If you don’t already, keeping your Canva templates organized with folders is a game-changer when it comes to organization.

We love to categorize graphics based on products, freebies, brand assets, and more.

Select the appropriate folder and one last time on the design you want to add to your current project.

Use the ‘Grid’ view for a fast and easy way to rearrange, duplicate, and organize the pages within your project.

Click and hold on a page you want to move, drag it wherever you’d like, and unclick.

To duplicate, select the page you’d like to duplicate and again on the page overlap-looking icon in the top right of the image below. The same goes for deleting and adding a new page as well.

Canva has come a LONG way over the past few years, and we can only imagine what’s to come. They’re always looking for feedback and ways to improve the program.

They host weekly digital events on a variety of topics, share a ton of how-tos, and provide the best customer support, no matter if you’re a free or Canva Pro user.

If you want to learn more about what Canva has to offer, you’ll LOVE our complete Canva course, Confidently Canva!

Learn how to use Canva to grow your blog! Our comprehensive Canva course teaches bloggers how to use Canva, design lead magnets, and more - with confidence!

It’s EVERYTHING you need to know to feel completely confident in your designs because now you truly understand the tool you’re using and the design concepts involved.

Enroll now and get $20 off Confidently Canva today!

We know Canva templates have this stigma that no matter how you edit them, they’ll always look like a template. But that’s simply not true!

We use templates in our business and are blown away at how different they look simply by changing the colors, fonts, and images to match our brand.

And by using Canva, there are so many amazing tips and tricks to help design faster than ever, giving us more time to spend in our business.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Don’t forget our FREE Product Creators Quickstart Kit! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET YOUR QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Easy Canva Printables | How to Make Printables in Canva

by 2 Comments

Last updated on October 19th, 2022

Printables are a blogger’s best friend because they help build your email list and generate some serious passive income. But it takes more than just designing printables to convert page visitors into subscribers. Learn how to make printables in Canva that stand out and provide your readers with value!

Over the years, we’ve had dozens of emails asking us why their printables aren’t converting. And throughout those years, we’ve noticed they all had one thing in common; design.

It’s easy to make printables in Canva. It’s creating high-converting printables that take a bit of thought and strategy.

The thing is, even though something is free, it still won’t convert if it doesn’t contain a few key design traits.

Why try to use something that just isn’t functional, regardless of its cost? Now, function aside, looks also play a huge role in conversion.

Ready to grow your email list? Get our FREE Worksheet Template Pack! These fully editable Canva templates are perfect for creating high-converting digital worksheets!

GET THE WORKSHEET TEMPLATE PACK!

As sad as it is, if it doesn’t look pretty, your audience won’t want it – plain and simple.

Because of that, your printable is preventing you from engaging with your subscribers, growing your email list, and even making money with your blog.

So, if your printables need an upgrade or want to make printables in Canva, you’ve come to the right place.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Your printables have the power to grow your email list and help you make money blogging! Learn how to make printables in Canva that your audience can't resist!

SCROLL-STOPPING HEADER

We often use the term “scroll-stopping” because there are SO MANY things fighting for attention in the online space.

People are busy, and they’re usually scrolling while waiting for the school bus or sitting in a waiting room. What will make them stop scrolling long enough to read your content?

A killer cover.

But this is a printable! Instead of a cover, you have the header. It’s what the eye hits first, which naturally makes it your viewer’s first impression of your product.

Related Post: 12 Digital Products That Are Selling Like Hotcakes

Is your header going to help your printable stand out in the crowd? Sure will. That means more people will sign up for your email list, resulting in a bigger audience coming time to launch your digital products.

BODY AND LAYOUT

Naturally, you want your printable’s body to be full of super helpful, amazing content. This is your opportunity to solve your reader’s problem. You want to make it awesome, help them take action, and make them want more.

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create Printables Your Audience WANTS

Not only does your content need to be spectacular, but the layout also needs to be clean. It needs to be organized, easy to read and make sense to the reader.

The biggest mistake we see bloggers make with the layout is going overboard with the design.

White space is your friend, and now isn’t the time to experiment with the crazy-curly-fun font you found in the latest Creative Market font bundle.

Typography

Typography is just a fancy word for text. It’s the fonts you use and how you use them. Never add more than 3 different fonts to a design. If you use brand-specific fonts, stick to them.

It’ll actually save you time when you have a consistent look to all your products because you don’t have to come up with something new every time.

Your readers won’t mind the same look each time, either. Check out our Five-Minute Brand templates if you need extra help with your brand!

Additionally, be consistent with your fonts. If you use a font like Quicksand for the body of your blog posts, use the same thing in your printables.

Related Post: 5 Font Design Tips Every Blogger Needs to Know

Now, this isn’t a deal-breaker; you can have a different font for your products (especially if you have no control over what font your blog uses). But use it for all your products.

As a general rule, we like to stick with sans-serif fonts for large bodies of text because it’s easier to read. We also like san-serif in headers as well since it pairs well with script fonts.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Pick 2-3 design elements per design that’ll help you organize the layout of your printable. Our favorites are banners and arrows.

Your printables have the power to grow your email list and help you make money blogging! Learn how to make printables in Canva that your audience can't resist!

Banners help distinguish different sections or help identify “important” information. It also dresses up your printable and looks nice!

MESSAGE

While this goes along with the content and body of your printable, it’s important to establish the goal of your overall message/purpose before you make printables in Canva.

Do you want to inspire? Do you want to motivate? Do you want your reader to take action? Answer those questions first because it matters and needs to show in your design.

FOOTER AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

We always include a copyright notice on all of our digital products, including printables. While this doesn’t prevent copyright infringement, it does deter it.

CALL TO ACTION OR NEXT STEPS

This doesn’t have to be included in every printable, but it’s something that we think is important and often overlooked.

Related Post: How to Use QR Codes for Easy Money

Our choice of bridging the gap from one step to the next is through the use of QR codes. It’s simple to use, change/update destinations and can be used both digitally and printed.

PROMOTION

While this isn’t part of your printable’s actual design, it’s equally important. No one will ever see your printable if you don’t promote it. Create launch graphics for social media, blog posts, emails, and even Pinterest!

Here are some ways you can promote your new Canva printable:

  • Share on social media
  • Make a simple landing page using Elementor, Leadpages, or ConvertKit
  • Set up an ad promotion
  • Do a Facebook live
  • Write a blog post about it
  • Share it in relevant Facebook groups
  • Pin, pin, pin!

The best part is that you can use this same structure to promote ALL of your blog’s lead magnets, such as workbooks, templates, planners, and more!

Related Post: 17 Lead Magnets Ideas to Grow Your Email List

Learning to make printables in Canva from scratch will take time. That’s why we love using templates as often as we can.

The more time saved, the more we can put back into our business making more products to sell, writing more blog posts to increase our traffic, and the like.

For us, time saved equals more money we can make. That’s why we created The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit, so you’ll have a template for every aspect of your blog.

You’ll be able to make printables in Canva in just a few minutes!

With OVER 450 Canva and PicMonkey templates to choose from, you’ll have more time now than ever to grow your blog!

But if you’re ready to tackle your Canva printable from scratch, we recommend starting with the header.

Once the header is out of the way, everything will flow so much easier.

Now you can rock your content, lay it out, and make it professional. Put on the finishing touches with design elements and add a copyright statement and CTA. Then, all that’s left is to promote it!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Ready to grow your email list? Get our FREE Worksheet Template Pack! These fully editable Canva templates are perfect for creating high-converting digital worksheets!

GET THE WORKSHEET TEMPLATE PACK!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in your business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Your printables have the power to grow your email list and help you make money blogging! Learn how to make printables in Canva that your audience can't resist!

Simple Design Hack: How to Use QR Codes For Easy Money

by 2 Comments

Last updated on October 25th, 2022

In this article, you’ll learn how to use QR codes in your digital products so you can guide your warm audience along an effortless customer journey that results in making some serious money!

QR codes are becoming an incredibly effective marketing tool for bloggers. They boost conversions, traffic, and engagement which means you have a consistently warm audience.

Another added benefit is simplifying the customer journey. In other words, fewer hoops for your consumers to jump through!

Want to connect with your audience 24/7 via automation? Sign up for the “no-code chatbot builder” known as ManyChat and experience 90%+ open rates and so much more totally FREE!

GET MANYCHAT FREE!

We’re going to contradict what we’ve all been told by the top bloggers in our niche. But don’t worry, it’ll all come back around full circle.

Instead of spreading ourselves thinner than a delicious homemade crepe by doing #allthethings to “grow” our blog, we’re told to focus on just a few key areas to give it everything we have.

And, rightfully so. We completely agree with that statement!

But, what if it was actually easier, simpler, and more efficient to spread out our marketing tactics (just a bit) instead of focusing solely on email as a way to sell our digital products?

We’re going to show you how to use QR codes in your digital products to create a direct and clear customer journey that’ll keep them so warm, they’re ready to buy time and time again.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word lead magnet or even a tripwire?

A digital product, most likely.

What comes to mind when you think of a digital product?

  • Workbook
  • Planner
  • Checklist
  • Cheatsheet
  • eBook
  • eCourse

The list goes on!

Now, let’s say we sign up for your lead magnet but pass on your tripwire.

Maybe we want to test out your product first before committing (aka the know, like, and trust factor). Or, maybe we just didn’t have the money, yet.

Whatever the reason, you still got us on your email list but didn’t land the sale.

No big deal… Or, is it?

We’ll come back to that in just a moment.

Now, what if we DID purchase your tripwire – and loved it!

For the sake of this example, let’s say it was an eBook on how to create a self-sufficient home. (We’re sure you know what we’ve been researching lately)

We’ve learned so much from your eBook and WE. WANT. MORE.

How are you banking on me purchasing the next-tiered product? Is it through your email funnel?

We both know that the average email open rate is *maybe* 20% with a pathetic CTR of 2.5%. And the last time we checked, the average inbox gets 100+ emails a day.

Now, we are SO not saying you need to give up on email marketing. No, no, and no. What we’re saying is, expand your marketing horizons to include more than just email.

What are we talking about?

Adding Facebook Messenger chatbots to your marketing strategy by learning how to use QR codes in your digital products!

What is a QR Code?

Before we can jump right into designing with QR codes, we need to first understand what the heck a QR code is.

Thankfully, a LOT has changed over the past couple of years regarding how to use QR codes.

It wasn’t up until recently that you needed to download an app to scan a QR code. But, it didn’t stop there.

Some QR codes were exclusive to certain apps, meaning, not all QR code scanners would work.

Talk about frustrating! Needless to say, they weren’t very effective.

So, what exactly IS a QR code?

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

To put it in non-techy terms (you’re welcome), it’s just a futuristic barcode used to store URLs that can be accessed via a smartphone camera.

Oh yeah, we said camera.

All we have to do is open the camera app on our smartphone and hover over the QR code.

We’ll then get a notification at the top of our screen asking us to Open in a specific app (Chrome, Messenger, etc.).

It’s THAT easy!

We can send our audience practically anywhere in the digital world.

An in-app location, web page (sales, checkout, contact, booking, etc.), YouTube video, podcast episode, Facebook Messenger *wink wink*… The sky’s the limit!

We bet you’re thinking a little differently about how to use QR codes now!

How to Use QR Codes

Remember when we said it wasn’t a big deal that someone passed on your tripwire?

A QR code can still land the sale because you’ve strategically placed it on your lead magnet as a ‘next step’ if you will.

So, instead of scouring a website or product page trying to figure out what product to buy next (don’t you just hate that?), you’ve simplified the process and cut out some insane overwhelm.

Have you ever noticed how Netflix, Disney+, even Amazon will recommend something at the end of a movie or show?

It’s pretty nice, isn’t it? Not having to worry about finding something similar to watch when all you wanted was to take a day off and not do a darn thing?

That’s what adding a QR code to your digital products can do for your audience (and your business).

Here are just a few ways you can use QR codes in your digital products:

  1. Download another freebie
  2. Next-tiered product sales page
  3. Scheduler like Calendly or Acuity
  4. Video tutorial or podcast episode
  5. Complimentary blog post
  6. Feedback form like Google Forms
  7. Facebook Page review or testimonial page
  8. And more!

If you’re ready to make your very own QR code, let’s dig in.

How to Create a QR Code

There are a TON of different QR code generators out there, but we’re just going to focus on one… For a very good reason.

Chatbot marketing has proven to be more effective in:

  • Turning subscribers into (recurring) buyers
  • Lowering lead costs (not everyone’s ready to run ads)
  • Automating sales (so you’re making money while you sleep)
  • Increasing conversions (because you’ve got a warm audience)

Not to mention it’s averaging 90% open rates and, get this… 40-60% click-through rates!

Still think putting all of your marketing eggs into one basket is the best approach?

We figured not. And that’s a-okay, my friend.

The whole point of using a QR code that’s tied to our Facebook Messenger chatbot is to keep our audience warm through constant engagement.

Because chatbots have such a high open rate, we want to take advantage of all that because our audience is 70% more likely to open our Facebook Messenger message versus email.

We’ll happily take that 90% chance over 20% any day!

Build a ManyChat QR Code

Now that we know what a QR code is (and why we need to use them), let’s build a ManyChat QR code!

From your desktop:

Head to ManyChat and either log in or create a new account. From your ManyChat dashboard, click on Growth Tools from the menu on the left side of your screen.

Then, select + New Growth Tool from the top right.

Name your Growth Tool using the Enter widget name text box at the top (organization is key!) and then click QR Code under Other Growth Tools.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

Choose your Opt-In Flow (where your audience will go once they scan your QR code) by either editing the default flow or replacing it with a different one. When you’re ready, select Next.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

Here’s where we’ll build our ManyChat QR code!

We have the option of:

  • Changing the image size
  • Adding a logo
  • Changing the back and foreground color

If you need some inspiration on how to use QR codes, here’s a design we just wrapped up for a client.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

We kept the image size at 200px and added a logo we built in Canva. (I will say, bigger is better in this case because it needs to overpower the boldness of the QR code for it to stand out)

We really liked the transparent look, so we chose to Remove Background Behind Logo.

Lastly, we kept the black and white colors (background and foreground) because they inadvertently matched their brand.

Don’t forget to download your ManyChat QR code by clicking the button at the bottom because we’re about to dive right into our digital product design!

How to Use QR Codes in Your Digital Products

There are SO many creative ways how to use QR codes in your digital products! But, for the sake of this tutorial (unless you want to be here for a few hours), we’ll be designing two different eBook page styles.

Honestly, you can apply this same design method on checklists, cheat sheets, swipe files…

So much room for activities!

Here’s the final product just to give you an idea of how to use QR codes in a design. Pretty swanky, don’t you think?

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

To start, we want you to look over the design you’d like to add a QR code to and see if there’s an empty space.

You want your QR code to compliment the contents of your digital product, not be a distraction or provide instant overwhelm.

Just like any great design, you want everything to flow naturally.

In the case of our page designs, we wanted to let our audience know what chapter 10 is about by giving a brief description of the video tutorial.

Then, we end the page with our QR code that leads them straight to Messenger where they can watch the video tutorial.

If we had added the QR code first (at the top of the page) and then went into the brief description, it could possibly cause confusion about what to do next.

Think of it this way.

Authors promote the next book in the trilogy at the end because they’re giving you the next step to take.

If it were at the beginning of the book, you may not know what order to read them!

DESIGNING WITH QR CODES

To add your new ManyChat QR code to your digital product using Canva, head to your desktop, and let’s get to designing!

  1. Upload your ManyChat QR code like you would any other image. Because they all look alike, we recommend creating a folder, so you know what each QR code goes to.

That way you’re not testing them all out to find the right one.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

2. Once you find the sweet spot on your page design, add the QR code. Feel free to change the size and angle to make it fit your design.

DESIGN TIP: Set your page to 100%, whip out your phone, and open the camera app to test out your QR code (to see if it’s too small). If your camera is having a hard time reading it, enlarge it until your camera can recognize it.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

3. Make sure your QR code stands out, so your audience knows it’s there. An easy way to get a QR code to pop is by adding some color behind it.

We chose Elements >> Shapes >> and a regular square box for my design. Then, we changed the size to cover the page. Easy peasy!

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

4. Because QR codes are still fairly new, we added a quick ‘how-to’ so my readers know how to access the video tutorial via QR code.

We also included a hyperlinked button (“Scan or Click Here”) just in case they’re viewing the eBook on their phone because then they won’t be able to use their camera!

To add a hyperlink, just select the text or box you’d like to convert to a button and click on the Link icon in the top right of your menu bar.

5. Lastly, we included an arrow to tie it all together (and jazz it up a bit!). To find an arrow, click Elements and type Arrow in the search bar.

Now, let’s chat about the second-page design for a moment.

This (now retired) ebook provides both video tutorials and ManyChat templates. We don’t want to deliver the templates before watching the tutorial which is why we have that specific QR code on the next page.

How to use QR codes in your digital products to turn subscribers into buyers! Learn to easily design with QR codes to boost conversion rates!

We still provide a quick ‘how-to’ (for those ‘just in case’ scenarios) along with a small note section at the bottom of the page.

Our intention when creating this eBook was to print and ship physical copies. So, we wanted to provide a way for our readers to keep track of any notes or questions as they watch the video tutorial.

Not to mention it’s super easy to add text if open on a computer, too!

Final Thoughts

The transition from brief description to video tutorial to free templates to note-taking paints a smooth and clear picture of what to do next.

It keeps our audience nice and warm because they’re constantly engaging with our Facebook Messenger chatbot. Plus, that line of communication is right at their fingertips should they have a question along the way.

We’re all about simplicity over here!

Keep in mind that ManyChat is constantly updating (or should we say upgrading) its platform, so we always have the most advanced features readily available to grow our business.

Now that you know how to use QR codes in your digital products, we can’t wait for you to give it a try and experience the incredible power of chat marketing for yourself!

Remember, QR codes can send your audience practically anywhere, so have fun with this!

Create numerous avenues to your content and products for a seamless (and professional) customer experience every single time.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Want to connect with your audience 24/7 via automation? Sign up for the “no-code chatbot builder” known as ManyChat and experience 90%+ open rates and so much more totally FREE!

GET MANYCHAT FREE!

Try ManyChat today

Sign up NOW to get started with the “no-code chatbot builder” known as ManyChat!

Upgrade to the Pro account (just $15/mo for up to 500 contacts) and unlock some INCREDIBLE features that’ll have you wondering how you ever went without it!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

3 Updates With Canva You Need To Know About

by 3 Comments

Last updated on June 27th, 2022

Canva updates ALL the time, but there are a few new things I’ve noticed that I’ve been extremely excited about. Let’s jump in!

I’ve been known for “Canva hacks” and “work-arounds” and I’m always trying to learn and teach new things in Canva.

That being said, It’s super exciting when you don’t NEED a time-consuming workaround anymore! That’s exactly what we have here!

The new Canva “kids” will never know the struggle!!

Multiple Links in One Text Box

Most of you that have followed me for a while are aware of my workaround for this.

It involved making multiple text boxes, reducing the transparency of them and overlaying them on top of the original paragraph.

We don’t need to do this anymore! You can now add as many links per text box as your heart desires!

Simply highlight the word you want to turn into a link, click on the “link” button, and type in the URL. Hit apply and repeat as many times as you’d like!

The Line Tool

Canva has pretty much always had lines. This isn’t new.

The problem with the lines that Canva had was that they were extremely difficult to adjust the size/weight of them.

You’d spend forever tinkering and it ultimately ended in frustration.

Want to save this post for later? Pin to your favorite Pinterest board!

Find out what updates canva has made that will eliminate the workarounds and help you design faster than ever!! Ever blogger NEEDS to read this!!

My workaround for this was using the font “Cinzel” and typing underscores.

This was the best font for this because the underscores were perfectly smooth (no dashes) and after you had a line or two done, you could highlight what you already typed and then copy and paste.

Within seconds you had a perfect page of “notebook” style lines.

Well, Canva now has a line tool that allows you to adjust the weight of your lines with a slider! So EASY!

When you add a line to your design, you’ll notice some options pop up next to the color box.

The first one allows you to adjust the weight of the line.

Slide it down to make it thinner, and up to make it thicker.

The next option allows you to quickly change the line into a dotted or dashed line.

The last option allows you to change the front and ends of the line so you can customize it to exactly what you need.

Don’t get me wrong, this is GREAT but if you need an entire page of lines, it still may be faster to do the Cinzel font trick but if you wanted to use the lines, you can always copy and paste them down the page.

Curved Text!

While I love ALL of the text effects the curved text option is probably the effect that I most FREQUENTLY got asked about!

Below is my youtube tutorial on all of the text effects:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZV8oIC9fExY

If you enjoy Canva, design, and blog tutorials please feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more!

As far as the curved text effect goes– this one wins biggest time saver!!

My workaround was quite time-consuming! It involved created a circle in the arch that you wanted and then placing individual letters and rotating them following the arch of the curve.

Then you’d delete the circle at the end of it.

Whew- so glad that will never have to be a thing again!

Now, with a simple click of a button, you can create curved, or even circled text.

Simply type out your text and click on “Effects” then choose “Curve” and use the slider to adjust the curve.

You can make it curve either way and even all the way around into a full circle if you want. Finally!

If you haven’t tried Canva or you’re looking to try out pro– click here to get started! Pro is worth its weight in GOLD in my opinion.

Simply being able to create folders galore is worth the price EASY!

Updates are happening all the time to make the platform better and easier to use.

I LOVE providing design templates, it’s so much fun but I would be lying if I didn’t completely geek out over design tricks/hacks!

I love that these updates make designing even faster (another reason I create templates— I love helping people save time) and I hope you learned a new trick or two!

Don’t forget to sign up for my free Canva templates! Just fill out the form below to get started!

GET ACCESS TO OUR DESIGN LIBRARY

Learn how to increase your traffic, skyrocket your income, build and future your list and increase conversions all through DIY design when you join our email list. Plus get instant access to our design library of templates, tutorials, and other design tools!

How to Set Blogging Goals | Ultimate Goal-Setting System

by 4 Comments

Last updated on March 9th, 2023

We set goals in our personal life, so why should our blogs be any different? Learn to set blogging goals for your business that will help you maximize your time and grow your blog faster than ever.

Even before we started and grew our team here at Simplifying DIY Design, we were never really ‘planner people.’

With our constant juggle of kids, family, charity work, church groups, and even other businesses, we spent more time crossing things out rather than using it to stay on track.

Our schedules were constantly changing. Unfortunately, our planners just couldn’t adapt along with us.

Ready to set achievable goals? Use our FREE Asana Goal-Setting Board Template and map out your blogging goals so you can have the most profitable, focused year yet!

GET THE ASANA BOARD TEMPLATE!

To make matters worse, it was impossible to keep our team organized, let alone move the needle forward.

We knew we needed something digital. Something our whole team could access from anywhere, update in a second, and grow with us as we made our way up the six-figure ladder.

All without a steep learning curve or hefty price tag.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Here's how to set achievable blogging goals for your blogging business that will help you maximize each quarter and grow your blog faster than ever before.

Now, that was just half the battle.

We never struggled with how to set goals for our blog. No… It was figuring out WHAT we all needed to work on collectively to achieve those goals in our small pockets of time.

Because, you know, life.

Learning to set our blogging goals that we could actually achieve AND plan out made all the difference in our blog.

Our friend (and business coach) Kristen from Blog Your Genius told us about her office whiteboard system.

Around the same time, we purchased the Blog Goal Overhaul Planner System from Kim Anderson which is truly worth its weight in gold.

Armed with our new tools, we created a Trello board system that actually worked for us!

Creating this system designed specifically for us was seriously a game-changer.

It wasn’t until we scaled into a consistent six-figure company that we decided to switch to Asana, which we’ll chat about later in this post.

However, if you want to really dig deep into effectively breaking down your blogging goals into actionable steps that you can “roadmap” through each quarter, we highly recommend the Blog Goal Overhaul Planner System.

Our Asana Goal-Setting System

Now, if you came here hoping this tutorial would be centered around Trello, hear us out.

Asana and Trello are VERY similar in how they both operate. Lists, cards, tags – it’s all the same, so you’ll still get the idea of how we use our goal-setting system.

Not to mention we’re still offering our FREE Goal-Setting Trello board template as well as in Asana!

Now that that’s out of the way let’s jump right in.

Identify three blogging goals for the quarter.

Your goals should be attainable but big enough to give you that scary/excited feeling.

Keep in mind that if your goals are too “easy,” you won’t feel motivated. However, if they’re too big, you’ll feel defeated.

It’s a balance only you can find.

We also like to choose goals directly related to our big yearly goal.

Let’s say our BIG goal is to make six figures this year. Our quarterly blogging goals need to bring us closer to that. What would that entail?

We’ll look at our funnels and work backward to determine our quarterly goals.

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Funnel That Converts

We can’t make money with our blog unless our audience knows about us. To do that, we need website traffic.

Okay, we have the traffic. Now what? We need a way to make money from that traffic.

Email list. We’ll increase our subscriber base.

Just because we have subscribers doesn’t mean we’re making any money. How do we get our email list to make our blog money?

We need some income, whether it’s from products, affiliates, sponsored posts, or client work.

We’re ready to map out our three blogging goals for the quarter.

  1. Make $100 blogging
  2. Increase subscribers
  3. Increase traffic

If your goals look like this, then you need to stop right now.

Your blogging goals need to be specific and measurable.

Using our process, we’ll go back and refine those goals to get us one step closer to determining ACTIONABLE steps.

It’s the HOW behind your goals!

  1. Create a tripwire product to generate $100 per month
  2. Sign up 100 new subscribers per quarter
  3. Increase traffic from 10k to 20k monthly views

These are much more specific, don’t you think?

We don’t simply state that we want to make more money but instead designate a task to accomplish that (for example, the tripwire product).

Related Post: Tripwire Product Ideas to Design for Your Blog Today

In addition, we’ve specified how much we want to grow our email list and how much we want to increase our traffic.

We firmly believe in the ‘out of sight out of mind’ mentality.

To prevent that, the first column in our Asana board is for our ‘Goals.’

Break down goals into a master task list

For this, we want to brain dump all the possible things we need to do to reach each of our blogging goals.

If it’s a task that we need to do but doesn’t DIRECTLY relate to one of our THREE quarterly goals, then it does NOT go on the list.

Focused, intentional work that moves the needle forward is what we’re aiming for.

PRO TIP: Stay organized with tags. As you build out your goal-setting system, these colored tags will help you identify goals and applicable tasks quickly and easily.

Now that you have all your goals stepped out into tasks, arrange them in the order of completion.

If you find that one can be broken down into even more steps (which is highly likely), add it to a checklist within that card.

To do that:

  1. Click on the card
  2. Located the “Checklist” option on the right side of the card
  3. Add tasks to the checklist
  4. When you complete a task, just click on the checkbox to mark it as ‘Done’

While we don’t do it for every task, we make sure to set deadlines for ones that absolutely need to be done by a specific date.

If we have a big promotion we’re prepping for, we’ll use due dates to launch on time. If something needs to be sent to another team member, due dates will follow suit.

Monthly goal-planning breakdown

Now that we have our quarters mapped out, we need to break it down further by planning our months.

Looking at our list of tasks in order of completion, we have a few things to consider here.

Which tasks are the most time-consuming? What tasks rely on others to be completed first?

Knowing this, we can break down our quarter into either one month, two months, or three months’ worth of tasks.

For example, our tasks to CREATE A TRIPWIRE are a bit more time-consuming than those needed to INCREASE SUBSCRIBERS.

We’ll break up our tripwire tasks into more manageable, bite-sized chunks throughout the quarter. We can quickly check those off for subscriber tasks within one month, thanks to our design templates!

Weekly goal-planning breakdown

Now that we have our year –> quarter –> month tasks complete, we can work on our weekly goals.

We have quite a few type-A gals on our team. The more thorough our lists, the happier they are!

Depending on the task and its urgency, we’ll go as far as to create daily tasks. But most of the time, we’re perfectly happy week-by-week.

Even though it’s so simple, this is truly magic. We NEVER have to think about what we “should” be doing when we sit at the computer.

There is a vast difference between being productive and being busy.

To help us realize this, we documented our every movement for one week straight.

If we’re checking email, it went on our list. If we’re designing new lead magnets for a product, it went on the list. Even if we found ourselves going down the Facebook rabbit hole, it went on the list.

At the end of each day, we saw our progress.

Having that visual right in front of us spoke volumes. We saw that we were spending a good chunk of time on tasks that were NOT directly related to one of the blogging goals we had set for ourselves.

Talk about an ah-ha moment!

Why we made the switch to Asana

When we first started with Trello as a brand-new business, it worked perfectly at no cost to us. All the features we needed to keep us organized were available on the free plan.

As we grew, we found that we were spending quite a bit on Power-Ups and, eventually, Trello Gold. It started to feel like we had maxed out its versatility (for us) and used many workarounds and backdoors to fit with our current systems in our business.

But we kept with it thinking it would be a logistical nightmare to move to another program.

It wasn’t until we saw a webinar about Asana that we realized we were stunting our growth.

We had the opportunity to see Asana work in real time, doing everything we wanted Trello to do.

That webinar was Uplevel With Asana, which has completely revolutionized our business.

Aside from having the most intuitive blogging goals strategy, we have systems in place for content maintenance, product creation, affiliate marketing, the works.

Side note: We owe our entire affiliate marketing strategy’s success to the Lazy Guide for Affiliate Marketing by Elizabeth Goddard. She is truly a marketing genius, and we’re obsessed with the set-it-and-forget-it approach for those of us that feel a bit icky pushing affiliate sales!

We have an entire 365 days planned and mapped out, which is such an incredible feeling.

Long story long, Trello was a fantastic starting point for our business. And when it was time to graduate, Asana was there to help us scale to new heights.

Set blogging goals and rock them

Everything we do for our blog has a rhyme or reason. It’s pushing us to grow, try new things, and make waves in the blogging industry.

This is why we turn off comments, remove social media apps from our phones, and disable notifications on our computers. When we’re working, we need to be focused.

We can’t waste a single second.

This goal-setting system lets us see what tasks are constantly being pushed aside. We then can evaluate why we’re not getting them done.

Maybe something needs to be broken down more, researched, or completely outsourced.

We do what works for this incredible team and us. Will it work for every blogger out there? No. But, as we say time and time again, that’s the beauty of templates and systems like Asana and Trello.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Asana Goal-Setting Board Template! Finally, map out your blogging goals to have the most profitable, focused year yet!

GET THE ASANA BOARD TEMPLATE!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time down to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in your business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Here's how to set achievable blogging goals for your blogging business that will help you maximize each quarter and grow your blog faster than ever before.

Selling Digital Products | 4 Common Mistakes Bloggers Make

by Leave a Comment

Last updated on January 17th, 2023

If you’ve ever fallen victim to limiting beliefs, you know that they can have such an undesirable hold on your mind and confidence. Don’t let these four common mindset mistakes hold you back from creating and selling digital products your audience is desperately searching for!

As graphic designers, we were hooked on digital products even before we had our own. You see, we were hired by a very well-known budget blogger when we got a request for a workbook.

Not only was it the first workbook we ever made, but we also made the entire thing in Canva.

Shortly after she launched her 80+ page workbook, she generated six figures in sales.

While that may be astonishing (because it definitely was!), we couldn’t get over how something we created just ONCE was able to sell on repeat without any extra work.

If that wasn’t emotional overload, we realized her products were changing lives.

Ready to launch your digital product? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

As a budget and finance blogger, money was a hot topic for her readers. Naturally, the testimonials she got would bring tears to anyone’s eyes.

So when we started Simplifying DIY Design, we knew we wanted to create and sell digital products above all else. But in order to do that, we had to really, really know our audience.

We had to know what product to create and how to write copy that would resonate with them. We had to know what tech works best and the behind-the-scenes of a launch, like what days convert best.

Before we knew it, we got really good at selling digital products. So good, in fact, that we bring in six figures annually from product sales alone.

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

We say all of that because we know a thing or two about what goes through the minds of bloggers when it comes to selling digital products.

We’ve helped hundreds of students create and launch their very first digital product using our Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox.

This is what EVERY blogger needs to know before selling digital products.

“NO ONE WILL WANT WHAT I’M SELLING”

If you’re hesitant about selling digital products because you think no one wants what you’re selling, listen up.

This is why knowing your audience is SO important. How do you get to know your audience? Ask them!

You can ask for a reply to an email (your welcome email is great for this), or you can send them a quick survey via Google Forms or SurveyMonkey.

We’ve even seen surveys right in the welcome email by asking a question and linking to three or four different responses. Once the subscriber clicks an ‘answer,’ they’re immediately tagged in their email service provider.

This simple yet powerful ‘rule’ (if using ConvertKit) makes selling digital products a breeze because you’ll only email those who’ve shown interest right from the very beginning.

We’ve used surveys to help us map out our most profitable products. Seriously!

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products

Our very first product launch generated over $10k because it was created based on what our readers wanted.

We recommend gathering the following details about your audience:

  • What they’re struggling with
  • What they’ve tried before and why it didn’t work
  • Why it matters to them to have this problem solved

Even these three little things can make such a difference in the creation and marketing of your digital product!

Again, if you create something specifically for your unique audience, you’ll never have to wonder if they’ll want what you’re selling.

“MY EMAIL LIST IS WAY TOO SMALL TO MAKE MONEY FROM DIGITAL PRODUCTS”

If we had a dime for every time we heard/read this, we’d have a lot of dimes.

Your list size means nothing if you’re providing valuable content to your readers. Our niche is very specific. With that, we’ve accepted that we’ll never have a crazy large email list.

We seem to average 10k-12k subscribers with a good clean-out every six months or so. By doing so, our weekly emails have an average open rate of 42%. Not to brag or anything, but that’s pretty freaking good!

Aside from emailing consistently, we ensure they’re nothing shy of valuable – quick Canva tips, free resources we think they’ll like, etc.

Related Post: How Worksheets Can Grow Your Email List

Did we always have a list of 12k subscribers? Heck no! We launched our first-ever product to a list size of 2,077 subscribers, to be exact.

Like we said earlier, we made OVER $10k in just seven days.

It’s not about the size when it comes to selling digital products. It’s about how engaged you are and what type of content you consistently provide your readers.

“SELLING IS SPAMMY, AND I DON’T WANT TO SPAM PEOPLE”

This is by far the most common response whenever we mention selling digital products in our weekly email.

Here’s the thing. Yes, you made your digital product so you can make money with your blog, and that’s a-OK!

You started your blog to provide for your family, leave behind the dreaded 9-5, or travel whenever and wherever. While our reasons are different, we all have a common denominator – to make money.

We’re not spending hours writing content that’ll help our audience simply because we ‘feel’ like it. We’re not going live because we like to hear ourselves talk.

And we’re not selling digital products because it’s a fun hobby.

We want to solve OUR problem (the reason we started a blog) while simultaneously helping our audience solve THEIR problem.

It’s hard to ask people to give you their hard-earned money, but you earned it! Products take a LOT of time and effort.

We never really valued a digital product until we made one. It was then that we realized, ‘holy smokes! That’s why some products are so pricey!’

Creating and selling digital products is incredibly time-consuming. And it doesn’t stop there. You answer questions, troubleshoot, provide excellent customer service, and update content.

If you have a Facebook group attached to your product, then it’s even more ongoing.

You’re providing value. You’re providing a transformation and deserve to be paid for it.

Besides, if someone is so inconvenienced by launch emails or a light mention of your product in a related blog post that they forget all of the FREE value you gave them the rest of the time, then they’re definitely not your people.

Related Post: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Selling Digital Products

As long as you always work to provide value above all else, you’ll never feel spammy.

And yes, launch emails are a GREAT place to provide value as you educate your people on why they might need your product.

“I CAN’T AFFORD A GRAPHIC DESIGN TO CREATE MY PRODUCT”

As graphic designers, we know the average cost of an outsourced project.

Not everyone can afford to hire a graphic designer, especially regarding the first product, since your blog may not be making an income that you can re-invest.

The thing is, you don’t actually need to hire a graphic designer. You can create your very own digital product using a simple design tool like Canva!

Every single lead magnet, tripwire, and digital product sold through Simplifying DIY Design was created using Canva.

We highly recommend starting with a design template to give you a professional jumping-off point.

You change the colors and fonts to match your brand and add your content. Templates are super easy to edit and even faster than starting from scratch!

Related Post: How to Best Edit Design Templates for a Unique Look

Templates are actually how we grew our blog to a full-time income (with only a part-time time commitment) in just six months.

Because we’ve always been transparent about our growth (both the good and the bad), we noticed our audience continuously asked about product launches.

The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox is THEE complete product creation hack for creating and launching products over and over while keeping your sanity and serving your audience!

After a few surveys, we created our COMPLETE product creation system (which includes 325+ product design templates and so much more) at a fraction of what we’ve charged clients for a simple workbook.

Templates are the most cost-effective way to create professional-looking digital products for your blog.

Don’t let these things hold you back from selling digital products!

We completely understand that it can be scary putting yourself out there.

A few years ago, we went live on our Facebook Page for our weekly Design Lab, only to find out it was on our personal page for all of our family and friends to see.

It stings when you pour yourself into a product only to fall flat immediately after.

We’ve been there, done that.

But we also know how it feels to get heartfelt emails full of thanks and appreciation. To have people tell you that you’ve changed everything for them, made their life easier, and solved a major problem.

It’s so, so worth it! We can’t even begin to imagine where we’d be if we let these things get in the way of creating and selling our digital products.

We would’ve never had so many opportunities to spend time with our families, take the entire month of December off, and make more money than we did with our full-time jobs.

If you haven’t created a digital product or you haven’t been successful with your digital product, we don’t want you to hold yourself back. It all starts with your audience.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Don’t forget our FREE Product Creators Quickstart Kit! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

some of our
favorite recommendations

Photo Editing & More
Emails That Convert
Fonts, Images & More
Stock Photos & Vectors
Fonts At a Discount
simplifying diy design canva templates